Running is the perfect sport for women. Why? Because women are disciplined, determined and incredibly well organised. We have to be in order to succeed in all the roles society layers on us – job, housework, mother, wife and much more. Running comes easily to most women, because all running takes is discipline, determination, organisation – exactly what we have!

Women take up running for a variety of reasons. Some want to improve their health, lose weight, run competitively, find a new hobby, socialise or use it as a stress release. Running is free and therefore the most accessible and convenient form of physical activity.

Whatever your reasons or your current ability this page is designed to encourage beginners, all the way through to helping the more experienced runner improve. For the next month I will be posting regular articles, advice and training programmes to help you achieve your individual goals.

Interesting facts about running

Did you know that………

(Olympic related)

1. The marathon originated from the Anthenian victory over Persion invaders near the bay of Marathon in Greece in 490BC. A Greek solider ran 25miles from the battlefield to Athens with news of the victory.  A Marathon was incorporated into the Olympic Games when the modern series began in 1896.
2. Paula Radcliffe still holds the world record for the women’s marathon time at 2 hours 15 minutes and 25seconds set back in 2003.
3. Track and field is thought to have emerged from the first Olympics held in Greece in 776 B.C.
4. The standard distance for an outdoor athletics track is 400m whilst the indoor tracks are 200m with banked turns due to the small turning radius.
5. The current world record for the women’s 100m sprint is 10.49 set in 1988 by Florence Griffith-Joyner of America.
6. The female record for 1 mile was 4:12.56 set by Svetlana Masterkova of Russia on August 14, 1996.
7. Decathlon competitors do 10 events in total. These include a 110m hurdle, Shot Put, Javelin, 1,500m run, Discus, Pole Vault, 100m run, Long Jump, High Jump and 400m run.
8. Heptathlon competitors like Jessica Ennis complete a total of 7 events. These include 200m run, 100m hurdle, High Jump, Shot Put, Javelin, Long Jump and 800m run.

 (General)

1. Human beings started running long distances some 4-6million years ago. It is thought this developed from the persistent hunting of animals when hunter gatherers ran 15-75 miles a day on the hunt.
2. Some of the anatomical characteristics that humans developed over time to make them efficient runners include; shorter forearms to counterbalance the lower body during running, a strong connection between the pelvis and spine providing more stability and shock absorption, long legs allowing us to take longer strides as well as the ligaments and tendons which act like springs, the arrangement of bones in the foot creating a stiff arch making the foot more rigid so it can push off the ground better and a large heal bone for better shock absorption to name but a few.
3. There are many health benefits associated with running. These include a reduction in the risk of heart attacks, angina, high blood pressure and stroke.
4. Running releases endorphins, the chemicals in the brain that make you feel happy; this is where the expression ‘runners high’ came from. This is why running is also such a great stress reliever and has been known to help with mild depression and anxiety.

Body Reform Personal Training would like to invite you to their official opening evening on Thursday 24th May at 5:30pm. Please join us for Champagne and nibbles. The trainers will be on hand to answer any questions and show you around Canary Wharf’s newest personal training facility.

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And to live these moments in Cannes, on the first day of the 65th Cannes film festival where no women directors feature among the 22 film-makers whose films have been selected in competition somehow highlights Hollande’s achievement.

I have personally never belonged to the positive discrimination hordes. You should appoint people for their competence, not because you need them to reach quotas. The appointment of Rachida Dati as justice minister by Sarkozy in 2007 looked in that regard a rather calculating and cynical choice. History showed she didn’t measure up to the task; her appointment was a disservice to feminism.

However, I have been increasingly appalled by gender disparity in the workplace, and in politics in particular. When you look at Hollande and his prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault’s choices for the French government, few raise questions of competence and legitimacy. There seem to be few “gimmick” appointments and no Sarkozy-like beauty contest (the former president was famous for favouring slim and fit people, and if possible, good-looking). In fact, Hollande’s parity achievement feels normal. At long last.

For decades, there was a factual reason for gender disparity at the helm of the state. Few women reached higher education and when they did, in schools like Sciences-Po, Normale Supérieure and ENA, among France’s grandes écoles producing the Republic’s governing elite, they were simply outnumbered. Gender disparity in high spheres wasn’t a male conspiracy, only a mirror of higher education demographics.

Today, you could be forgiven for thinking that figures have now finally levelled and that Hollande’s achievement only reflects new demographics, but it is not quite the case yet. Looking at some of the figures, we’re getting to parity at Sciences-Po, but women still only represent a third of students in ENA’s early 2000s numbers. This is the reason Hollande’s decisions feel both normal and yet extraordinary as they both anticipate and give momentum to a soon-to-be-realised prophecy. When there is parity in higher education, there will be no reason or any excuse for gender inequality in government.

Article source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/may/17/hollande-france-gender-equality

Spending cuts will disproportionately affect women: women are more likely to be the beneficiaries and users of public services; and employees in the public sector. The 2012 budget came under sustained attack for targeting women with gendered cuts to child tax credits, child benefit and pension income tax benefits. And with women constituting some 65% of public sector employees, the forecast public payroll reduction, some 710,000 by 2015, will likely fall most heavily on them too. Against this backdrop, the question is whether Cameron is on the cusp of losing – or perhaps has already lost – women’s votes.

If it is not surprising that more women than men disapprove of reducing public spending, what might be more surprising is that we have found Conservative-supporting women to be more hostile to cuts in public expenditure than Conservative-supporting men. This difference is, crucially, larger than the sex gap in attitudes to spending cuts among the whole population or among Labour or Liberal Democrat supporters.

This finding about Conservative-supporting women is also consistent with Childs’ and Webb’s recent analysis of Conservative party members’ attitudes – suggesting a potential problem for Cameron among Conservative women inside and outside of his party.

Our own research into voter behaviour found that, while there are not sex differences on all issues, an array of measures designed to reduce public expenditure receive more support from Conservative-identifying men than women. Most notably:

• 16% more Conservative-identifying men than women supported raising the pension age.

• 13% more Conservative-identifying men supported a freeze in public sector pay.

• 12% more Conservative-identifying men supported the abolition of regional development agencies.

• 11% more Conservative-identifying men supported a 5% reduction in NHS spending (nearly twice as many men as women supported this proposed cut).

• 11% more Conservative-identifying men than women supported reducing child tax credit.

We added the responses to the survey questions together, creating a cuts scale. Responses range from zero (supports none of the cuts to public spending listed) to 12 (supports all of the public spending cuts listed). Comparing Conservative identifiers to the rest of the population and supporters of other parties we find that:

• Among the whole population the average score for a man was 4.8 and for women 4.2 (with the higher number being more in favour of the cuts).

• Among Labour identifiers the figures were 4.0 for men and 3.7 for women.

• Among Lib Dem identifiers the figures were 5.1 for men and 4.2 for women.

• Among Conservative identifiers the figures were 6.6 for men and 5.6 for women.

The largest sex gap in support for the cuts is clearly between Conservative identifiers: the 1-point sex gap outstrips the 0.4 sex gap across the whole population; the 0.3 sex gap among Labour identifiers; and the 0.7 sex gap among Lib Dem identifiers.

We can only speculate as to why the Conservatives face such a stark sex gap in attitudes to public expenditure. We hypothesise that men and women identify with the party for different reasons. It may be that the Conservatives’ historic advantage among women voters has little to do with laissez-faire economic policies, and is perhaps based on a preference for tough policies on law and order, leaving them free to be “wet” on economic issues.

Overall, our findings suggest that Cameron is taking a risk if he continues to ignore the gendered impact of the cuts strategy. It may well cost the party women’s votes in 2015 and may even cause him problems among his party membership. It also raises questions for female Conservative MPs. Will they act to ensure that the party’s platform remains attuned to Conservative women’s views and, in turn, electorally competitive?

• Follow Comment is free on Twitter @commentisfree

Article source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/may/17/david-cameron-cuts-strategy-tory-women

Four years down the line, Miss Jones is looking very pretty and ready to move up in the world.

From her top notch new offices in Grosvenor Gardens, Henrietta talks to Myriam O’Carroll about her ambitions for Miss Jones, the challenges of finance and what drives her in being her own boss. She also reveals her London secret addresses.

Having been a PA for 15 years, what would you qualify for being the best PA?

Nerves of steel. Someone who has a really flexible attitude to life. Someone who is fun actually, who does not take things too seriously!

What got you out of being a PA, to found Miss Jones in 2008?

I took a voluntary redundancy from Metro Newspapers, where I was working as a PA. I had the idea of Miss Jones with my ex-business partner early 2008 and we suddenly realised it was a very viable idea. Miss Jones was launched in September 2008, so exactly 9 months later.

What triggered the idea for the business?

I realised there was nothing for PAs with everything they needed on one website, such as restaurant venues, private dining, meeting rooms, hotels… And there was not a community either for PAs, where they could find information, have newsletters, have events where they could meet, particularly as our members are very high-profile PAs.

What is the mission of Miss Jones?

The mission of Miss Jones is to be the top online portal for PAs. We want to make sure PAs will come to us, above anyone else, to find restaurants and hotels, to get the best possible discounts and rewards for being members of Miss Jones. Going forward we want to build a really strong community for PAs, so that they can use it to help them with any problem they might have in their career or their job.

What is the biggest challenge you face?

The biggest challenge is finance. I started the business with very little finance. When I presented my business plan to the bank – despite having Anya Hindmarch, or Jo Malone as clients of mine – I was told the best thing I could do was to ‘go home and ask my mother to re-mortgage her house’.

How is the company doing today?

Today the company is doing very well. We are being approached every day by different people. We have now 4,000 PAs who are members, so that’s grown from 3 PAs in 2008! Every day is a challenge and that’s what I love about it. Also, it is my own business, which is a big challenge.

What are the next steps for Miss Jones?

The next plans will be to be moving Miss Jones to Scotland. We do have some PAs who use us in NYC, so we are looking to set up a Miss Jones NY. We will move up to the north of England as well. We are involving our PAs in helping us setting that up, so they will run these small businesses.

What drives you every day to manage Miss Jones as your own boss?

What drives me is that we are delivering a service to the PAs. I wished I had something like Miss Jones when I was a PA. I get to meet so many different and wonderful women who are PAs – women and men – and just knowing we can help them in their day to day job makes a difference.

Is there someone who has been an inspiration in your life?

Yes, my old boss, Steve Auckland, who was the Managing Director of Metro Newspapers. He taught me not to wear my heart on my sleeve. He taught me the difference between profit and loss, how money comes in, how it goes out … all the basics. In fact he taught me to be really really tough!

Where do you go to for fresh ideas?

I turn to the PAs. We did a very big survey on Miss Jones recently asking the PA what they wanted from Miss Jones. We got a lot of good replies, which have helped me shape and change the website. They inspire me, they really do with some of the ideas they come up with.

Which mistake wouldn’t you make again?

Trusting people too soon is something I would never do again. But, you learn and you learn to go with your gut instinct as well. Another thing I would not do again is setting-up a business without funding behind it. It is really quite difficult with no financial backing.

What is your network attitude?

I tend to network at B. Hive in Covent Garden. My advice would be ‘Don’t ever be afraid to approach people, go and have a chat’. Don’t ever be frightened to ask somebody something. Life’s too short and if you don’t ask, a really great opportunity could walk straight pass you.

Can you share with us some of your London best addresses?

Where to go for a luxury treat?

The Hammam at the Dolphin Square’s Spa, which is absolutely amazing. If you want to be scrubbed from top to toe and absolutely gleaming, that’s’ where you want to go.

A shop you love?

It has to be without a doubt Anya Hindmarch, for all the beautiful handbags.

Your favourite bar?

The bar at the Connaught Hotel, one of the best and they serve the best Martinis!

A hotel for a beauty?

The Blakes. It was the first of the boutique hotels in London and it is absolutely stunning.

Links
www.missjonespa.com

About Myriam O’Carroll

Myriam has been working in the media industry for the past ten years, for CNN and CNBC Europe, where she developed editorial partnerships with high-profile brands. She now works across several media – French Radio London, where she hosts Femmes de Valeur, a weekly radio show featuring inspirational women. She also writes business stories for some lifestyle UK magazines. Myriam’s other career is in marketing & corporate communications. Myriam is French and has lived in the UK for 15 years.

On the 8th, 9th and 10th June 2012, MINT Polo in the Park will return to Hurlingham Park for its fourth year. Two-time winner of ‘London Sport Attraction of the Year’ at The London Lifestyle Awards (2010 and 2011), MINT Polo in the Park is the leading outdoor polo and lifestyle event in central London – offering a mix of sport, entertainment, VIP experiences, fun and glamour.

Polo players from all over the world will battle each other over three exhilarating days to gain the winning title. Start the weekend early with Twilight Polo on City Friday, enjoy the charms of the sell out Ladies Day and see it through to the thrilling conclusion of Finals Day.

The pitchside bar and viewing space has doubled since 2011 so now you won’t miss a moment of action on the pitch. Further additions for 2012 include the Havana Mojito Bar, The Spitfire Pub and The PIMM’S Bus and Garden. You also can expect to find some reinvented favourites such as The Harrods Food Court, an even bigger Veuve Clicquot Champagne Garden, The Mahiki Bar, a newly designed Children’s Club and of course, even more polo!

General Admission and Grandstand tickets available from £10. Child, family and groups tickets available.

Hospitality packages throughout the weekend are available for £150+VAT per person but are selling fast. For more information, please contact Rachel Roullier via email at Rachel@cityevents.uk.com.

For more information, please contact Kim Isaacs via email, Kim.isaacs@captiveminds.com.

To find out more information and to buy tickets go to www.polointheparklondon.com.

On the 8th, 9th and 10th June 2012, MINT Polo in the Park will return to Hurlingham Park for its fourth year. Two-time winner of ‘London Sport Attraction of the Year’ at The London Lifestyle Awards (2010 and 2011), MINT Polo in the Park is the leading outdoor polo and lifestyle event in central London – offering a mix of sport, entertainment, VIP experiences, fun and glamour.

Polo players from all over the world will battle each other over three exhilarating days to gain the winning title. Start the weekend early with Twilight Polo on City Friday, enjoy the charms of the sell out Ladies Day and see it through to the thrilling conclusion of Finals Day.

The pitchside bar and viewing space has doubled since 2011 so now you won’t miss a moment of action on the pitch. New additions for 2012 include The Polonesia Tiki Bar, The Crown and Corgi Pub, The Pimms Bus and garden and The Havana Mojito Bar. You also can expect to find some reinvented old favourites such as The Harrods Food Court, an even bigger Veuve Clicquot Champagne Garden, The Mahiki Bar, a newly designed Kids Club and of course, even more polo!

We are offering a pair of general admission tickets for Friday 8th June 2012 to give away to one lucky winner. Simply answer the following question.

Join us for a two-day exploration of the Technologies for WellBeing, a Life-Transforming weekend with Sadhguru.

A known speaker to TED, the World Economic Forum, United Nations, WPO, YPO and many more prestigious forums, Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic, poet and visionary humanitarian. His vision is to empower every human being with an inner situation that is beyond strife and stress, and to create joyful, peaceful and balanced individuals who can bring about a true sense of human wellbeing in the world.

Event Details:

• When: 9-10 June
• Where: ExCeL London

To find out more click here to join us for a Free live webinar on Tuesday 22nd May at 20:00 hrs.

For the event website or to book for the programme click here.

The session will provide:

• A foundation of understanding on stress and its impact on the system

• A perspective on how yoga and meditation can be effective; tools to maintain physical, emotional and mental balance irrespective of the external circumstances

• A question-answer session

• Isha Kriya (kriya refers to an ‘internal process’), a 15 minute meditative practice that can be practised on a daily basis to promote health, dynamism, peace and wellbeing. It is a powerful meditation that helps one cope with the hectic pace of modern life

• A free online package, offered to the participants, allowing them to practise the meditation at their convenience.

For over 30 years, Isha Institute of Inner Sciences has been a leader in offering simple, scientifically structured solutions to empower individuals, corporates and professionals to live as conscious, dynamic and healthy human beings. Corporate Clients  include Philips, Microsoft, Citibank, London Business School, American Express, IMD , WPO, YPO, Apex…

For more information and to book your place click here.